Turkish Opposition Blames Erdogan for Weak Response to Biden

Following April 24, when U.S. President Joe Biden recognized the Armenian Genocide, it was expected that the Turkish opposition would blame the government, particularly Erdogan, for Biden's characterization of the tragedy faced by the Armenian people during the Ottoman Empire as genocide.

After the President's speech, opposition politicians began evaluating his words. For many, his statements did not seem sufficiently robust. Ahmet Davutoğlu, leader of the Future Party and a former ally of Erdogan, expressed his discontent with Erdogan’s remarks made on April 26 in response to Biden.

“The President's statements have pathos, but no result. There is capitulation, no response. There are more empty words, and no vision. What have you decided and what have you done against the so-called statements made by the U.S. President regarding genocide? Are you just worried that in June you will have another cup of tea with Biden?” Davutoğlu wrote on Twitter.

Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, leader of the Kemalist Republican People's Party, spoke with his party members yesterday and also criticized the Turkish President's response. “Until now, there have been many different governments in Turkey, and there have been issues with Americans, but no U.S. President has labeled the events of 1915 in the Ottoman Empire as ‘genocide’. Erdogan was silent for three days, did not respond to Biden. And when he started to speak, everyone thought he would roar like a lion, but instead, he meowed like a cat. It’s sad. The main question is: why now? Our state has adhered to the main principle - peace at home, peace in the world (Turkey's official slogan). Atatürk bequeathed us: ‘Do not interfere in the affairs of Arab countries’. But the current leadership chose to ignore this advice. Recep Tayyip Erdogan has become a national security issue for the Republic of Turkey,” he noted.